Arab Entrepreneurs Spread the 'Power of Yalla'

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In 2003, after two years in Texas, Moe Ghashim moved back to his
hometown of Aleppo, Syria. He was attracted to the country's
immense potential and the aspirational drive of its people. Moe
started a web design company, servicing his US-based clients with a
growing workforce of 12 employees. Soon, he started dreaming of his
next venture, a platform that would make setting up an online
e-commerce store as easy as starting a Facebook page. It would be
an Arab world première. But last year, bombs started hitting his
city. Moe had to hastily pack his bags and head to neighboring
Jordan.

With neither a network nor funding, Moe set up base in Amman. He
turned to a local start-up accelerator for help pursuing his idea.
He later received funding from my organization, Wamda, a platform to empower entrepreneurs in the Middle
East and North Africa, and built ShopGo.me into one of
the leading e-commerce
platforms in the Arab world.

Moe's success against all odds — in extreme conditions where
cash, human resources, and clients are hard to find, and political
stability is often non-existent — that's what I call the "Power of
Yalla."

"Yalla" is Arabic slang for "let's move it." It's the power of
doing things with an attitude of resilience, fast adaptation, and
informed improvisation under volatile conditions. Operating in this
environment requires persistence, flexibility, and a deep-rooted
desire to change the status quo.

The "Power of Yalla" has always pulsed through the Arab world.
For some outsiders, the upheavals that began in Tunisia in 2010
offered their first glimpse of this spirit. Many of the online
activists that worked to topple old regimes in Egypt and Tunisia
came from entrepreneurial backgrounds. They literally bootstrapped
their way through revolutions, using all the tools at their
disposal, adapting extremely fast, and persisting in their cause,
until dictatorships fell.

A few months after the uprisings, I put an end to 10 years of
living in the US and moved back to the Middle East. I was inspired
by the amount of energy I felt, and knew it could be channeled into
creating jobs and companies that would spur some much-needed
economic growth.

I accepted an invitation to become CEO of Wamda, and built with
my team a platform to help activate and invest in the
entrepreneurship ecosystem. In a region where unemployment rates
are amongst the highest for young people, entrepreneurship is a
critical outlet — not just to create jobs, but also as a
psychological channel for optimism and positive transformation.

In my work, I meet "Moes" everyday — young Arab entrepreneurs
demonstrating the "Power of Yalla" in their daily lives by putting
together startups and creatively working around roadblocks. In
emerging markets like the Middle East, often only the most
resilient can stay afloat. And the strong fundamentals of the Arab
market make it all the more worthwhile: with 350 million consumers
and a youthful population, the Arab world offers a huge opportunity
for entrepreneurs attuned to its cultures and aspirations.

Today, the world is going through extreme economic conditions
inherited from the financial crisis and rapid geopolitical changes.
The recent experiences of Arab entrepreneurs provide some lessons
for start-ups in any country:

Adopt informed improvisation: You can't
plan everything in advance. Instead, focus on the right tools and
surround yourself with the right relationships. Condition yourself
to quickly adapt to new or uncertain situations.

Understand culture and politics: It's
important to know what you can and can't do. Respect cultural
intricacies and make sure you understand the relevant politics very
well.

Focus on sustainability: Start-up funding
in emerging markets is very scarce. Unlike more developed
entrepreneurship ecosystems, start-ups cannot afford to use
investors' money without proving a sustainable profitable model. To
survive, they need to strive for sustainability very early in the
process.

This is what entrepreneurs in a tough market are doing every day
and this is what I call the "Power of Yalla." In an upcoming post,
I'll examine some of the steps involved in activating
entrepreneurship ecosystems in emerging markets.